The Niner RLT 9 Aluminum 3-Star Rival Is Ready to Go Off the Grid

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For our tester, the comfortable and versatile Niner RLT 9 was the one that got away. Matt Rainey

The hardest part about testing bikes is breaking up with them when the test period is over, long after they’ve become an integral part of my life and I’ve imagined an entire future for us together. And with the Niner RLT 9, I really felt like we had something special. We tooled around gravel roads with no particular destination in mind. We took a three-day bikepacking trip to the Pisgah National Forest near Asheville, North Carolina—one last big adventure before impending parenthood encroaches on my weekend freedom. We even spent our first major holiday together, as I loaded up the bike with frame packs full of leftovers and rode 60 miles home from my family’s Thanksgiving celebration. And then our time together drew to a close, and I had to find a rebound for my late-fall excursions.

RLT stands for “road less traveled,” and the bike is ready for anything from commuting to gravel fondos to multiday backpacking trips. Matt Rainey

So why did giving this bike back hurt more than it had for the other bikes that came before it? It wasn’t just that the RLT 9 was burly enough (and had the gearing) to put up with whatever challenge I could sling into its path, like charging up the side of a 20 percent dirt climb with 30 pounds of camping gear strapped to the frame. I was also taken with its endless possibilities. The bike felt stiff, agile, and responsive no matter how much weight I packed onto it. With what Niner calls “fire road geometry”—longer chainstays, a lowered bottom bracket, and a slacker head-tube angle—the RLT 9 was comfortable enough to ride on gravel all day. Rack and fork mounts made multiple touring and commuting configurations possible, and the tire clearance of up to 42mm gave me the option of taking it as far off the grid as I wanted. (Admittedly, I stayed close to civilization so I could Instagram photos of us together.) A carbon fork, disc brakes, and dual thru axles complete the package. The bike is designed to carry a lot of my baggage without feeling like it’s being loaded down.

I’d previously ridden both the steel and carbon versions of the RLT 9, but this aluminum model won me over for its combination of lightweight performance and value. As with any good relationship, I liked myself more when we were together. Now I just need a game plan to get reunited with an RLT 9 long term. I still have so many adventures for us in mind.

The RLT comes with a carbon fork—and clearance for 42mm tires. Matt Rainey

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